Any therapy resource that begins with the author's admission of his own flaws and treatment failures, has my attention. Too many treatment resources are written by authors who present as though they know everything and have never made a mistake, and Jack Klott's voice is refreshingly honest about his own journey as a therapist treating addictions, his struggle with burnout, and the discovery of motivational interviewing that made the difference in his career. Reading this is like sitting and chatting with a wise teacher, who manages to impart a great deal of necessary information and experience in a very down-to-earth, digestible way.

The author makes a convincing case, that is well-supported by the literature that he presents, that substance use disorders rarely present alone. He encourages the reader to look at comorbidity, and the focus on trauma's connection to substance abuse is well-described, as is our field's tendency to overlook trauma when treating substance abuse. In this regard, the book serves as a valuable wake-up call.

Informative sections about research, symptomatology, etc, are nicely interspersed with case vignettes, stories, and the author's personal reflections, so that the book never feels too dry. Major disorders of the DSM are reviewed along with their comorbidity with substance abuse, and sometimes even the preferred substance among a particular diagnostic group (ie cannabis being preferred by those with GAD to self-medicate). The book integrates mental health and substance abuse in a common sense and seamless way. There is vital information here for mental health professionals who do not have extensive background in substance abuse, and this information can help them to be more alert to signs of SA in their clients.

This is, truly, an integrative work that advocates seeing the client as a whole person rather than a collection of diagnostic labels. It emphasizes the relationship, meeting the client where they are, and truly hearing the client's story. The issue of resistance and motivation is explored nicely, with a heavy focus on motivational interviewing strategies. Issues around risk are carefully explored, with strong attention given to the increased risk of suicide and aggression in those with co-occurring disorders, and good information to consider in risk assessment.

The author points out that numerous evidence-based therapies are available for this population, but rather than reviewing each of them, he provides an overview of the core principles that guide each EBP for co-occurring disorders--distilling them down to the necessary foundational information and encouraging flexibility in the therapist when following EBPs.

Overall this is a thoughtful, concise, and well-researched book on treating those with co-occurring disorders, written by a wise and reflective author who imparts crucial information to those on the front lines of mental health and substance abuse treatment. I recommend it highly, and feel that all in this field can benefit from reading it.

This quick read has refreshing depth and honesty. The protagonist, Oppen, initially is somewhat reminiscent of Forrest Gump, but we quickly see that he is a character who is completely unique. Oppen believes he is dying in the hospital after an accident, and he records a narrative of the last 40 days of his life for his unborn son.

Oppen's journey begins with the death of his father, after which he is whisked away to Panorama City by his aunt Liz who believes him incapable of caring for himself. As Oppen navigates his first job at an unnamed fast-food restaurant, weekly therapy appointments with Dr. Rosenkleig, and a growing friendship with a salesman he meets on the bus, he struggles with being his own person versus being the person that his aunt is trying to fashion him into.

Oppen is a deeply endearing character who, by the end of the novel, clearly has more wisdom and depth than most people, despite his status as "village idiot." His lessons imparted to his unborn son are poignant and sweet, and sometimes utterly hilarious, as Oppen's innocence clashes the more cynical world around him. This was a remarkably unique, well-written story with a narrator that I won't soon forget.

This is a very gentle-on-the-skin, unscented sunscreen. SPF 30 is what I usually use, even on the first sunbathing day of the year, and it has always been enough. So, this was my sunscreen used on this year's first sunbathing. I will add that we were vacationing somewhere with lower humidity, which may have contributed to the issue: even with reapplying it, I got quite red in some spots after only a couple of hours outdoors.

Since that was a somewhat unusual experience in a different climate, I gave this a couple more chances on my home turf, with no further issues. In the interim I had built up somewhat of a tan using my regular sunscreen, so perhaps that helped. At any rate, I love the way this applies; more like lotion than sunscreen and without the white smears or greasy residue of a lot of other sunscreens. It just absorbs right in; I even use it on my face, which I can't do with other sunscreen without getting clogged pores.

In summary, this does the job well, but it may not be the sunscreen to go with your very first time out, if you've got very fair skin like me. Subsequent to the first experience, it's protected me well and kept my skin from drying out, without being overly greasy.

I've used a lot of disposable razors in my time, and while my strong preference is for the non-disposable razors, I have used disposables that impressed me. This unfortunately was not one of them.

First, it is extremely awkward to use. The handle feels flimsy, and is poorly designed giving little control. There are no grips on the handle, so using this in the shower is a very painstaking process, as I constantly lost my grip. It did not do well over curves (ie knees, underarms) and these parts had to be gone over a couple of times. The razor itself did feel comfortable, and somewhat hydrating.

The overall results were not terribly impressive; my shave didn't seem to last as long as with my regular razor. Overall this product's design made it very tedious to use, with results that aren't worth the effort. I cannot recommend this product.

This novel was good enough to keep my attention on a long flight--and for someone who is quite an anxious flier, that says something. In part a mystery, and in part a subtle, yet heartwrenching exploration of the emotional aftermath of World War II, the story moves back and forth in time. The narrative voice frequently changes, from first person perspective of Ruth, the daughter of a vanished war bride, to third person perspective of other characters. While at times this can be slightly confusing if you're not paying close enough attention, overall the author managed the transitions fairly seamlessly.

Ruth's mother, Lily, vanishes when she is 3 months old, with no explanation, and no further contact except to send Ruth rocks from places she's stayed, every few years. Lily was a war bride after the end of World War II, and we soon find that she was not who she said. The story follows Ruth's life after her mother's disappearance; in her story, her mother's absence is more present than any memory Ruth had of her. Interspersed with Ruth's story, we get more of Lily's background from the perspective of other characters, and pieces slowly begin to come together.

The character development isn't the strongest, but it became quite forgiveable against the compelling backdrop of history and the mystery of what happened to Lily. The writing is subtle and powerful, and pulls the reader in swiftly, making it very difficult to put down. A very engrossing read.

This book was a bit difficult to get into at first, in large part due to the very large cast of small-town characters who were initially difficult to keep up with. However, after a somewhat rough start, I settled into this tale of Hildy, a divorced realtor and recovering alcoholic--well, at least she's in recovery in public.

In the privacy of her own home, Hildy continues to drink, while maintaining a firm denial that she has any sort of problem. Her voice as the first person narrator is warm, flawed and often hilarious. She is a pull-no-punches observer of those around her, and she quickly becomes fascinated by the new woman in town, Rebecca.

As the story progresses, Hildy is more and more drawn into Rebecca's intriguing, and then increasingly unstable, world. The backdrop of Rebecca's story was, ultimately, less compelling to me than Hildy's own struggles. And unfortunately, toward the end of the novel, Hildy's character often crossed the line from flawed and endearing, to plain unlikeable, which was painful to experience after having become quite attached to her as a character. Some of her actions and words, even in the context of her addiction, just did not fit with the character I felt I had come to know.

Overall it was an enjoyable read, with a (usually) sympathetic, flawed and funny protagonist. However, the rough start and the jolting behavior of Hildy toward the end, lent uneven bookends to the tale. A good effort, but inconsistent.

Lipton's decaffeinated green tea makes a nice evening treat, and I really enjoyed the flavor of this tea. The blackberry flavor is most prominent, and it has almost a subtle floral undertone that is very refreshing. It is sweet enough to drink without added sugar, due to the berry flavoring. However, I also tried it with milk and honey added and it was delicious. I think it would also taste great over ice, and the box has directions for how to make a pitcher of iced tea with it. A refreshing and revitalizing treat after a heavy meal, that won't keep you up all night.

We love multigrain and whole wheat pastas in our house, and this pasta goes into our regular rotation. It is easy to make, and goes well with any kind of sauce. It has a slightly heartier flavor than white pasta, but otherwise I can't taste any difference between this and regular spaghetti. I like knowing that we're getting the extra grains and fiber along with the good taste. This goes great with spaghetti and meatballs!

I have never tried a Finish product that I didn't like, and this is no exception. It has a nice fresh lemon scent coming out of the package. It handled the dried on coffee/ sugar at the bottom of my coffee cup that I had accidentally left at work overnight (yuck!) Everything in the dishwasher came out shiny and clean, even things that hadn't been rinsed very well, and there were no spots on any of the glasses or silverware. A great product.

I love these sturdy, stainless steel measuring cups. They are definitely not flimsy, and the rubber grips on the handle make them easy to hold on to. The measures for each are brightly colored and easy to read. They have lipped edges, rather than sharp edges, so accurate measuring is easy. They also hold up well to being washed in the dishwasher (I washed them on the top rack). My favorite feature: they come attached to a ring; however, unlike many nested cup sets I've tried, you don't need to remove them all from the ring to get to one cup. With a quick turn to the side, they will slide easily off the ring, and they easily pop back on via an opening in the handle of the cup. Oxo paid good attention to detail here, and it paid off in a functional and high-quality product.